Traditional SaaS charges for features, seats, and usage volume. Memory-first platforms flip the model entirely: charge for memory depth and access to collective intelligence. As users accumulate memory, switching costs rise while willingness-to-pay increases.
Traditional softwarepricing faced a ceiling: users would pay for features until alternatives emerged. Competition drove prices toward marginal cost.
Memory-first pricing has no ceiling: the value increases with usage. Users who’ve accumulated deep memory will pay more because they’re getting exponentially more value – and they can’t get equivalent value elsewhere without rebuilding months of context.
The New Pricing Tiers
Memory Retention Period: Free = 30 days, Pro = 1 year, Enterprise = unlimited. The longer your context persists, the more valuable the platform becomes.
Memory Depth: Free = basic context, Pro = deep personalization, Enterprise = full reasoning history. Depth determines how well the platform understands your specific needs.
Platform Memory Access: Free = none, Pro = curated insights, Enterprise = full collective intelligence layer. This is where the network effect becomes monetizable.
Interaction Features: Free = basic tool use, Pro = orchestrated workflows, Enterprise = custom memory interactions. The magic at the intersection of individual and platform memory.
Why This Works
The pricing ladder becomes more attractive the longer users stay. Unlike traditional SaaS where feature parity creates churn risk, memory depth creates lock-in that compounds.
Traditional expansion revenue came from adding seats or features. Memory-first expansion comes from users investing more in their memory relationship:
Deeper memory tiers as usage increases. More platform memory access as needs become sophisticated. Custom interaction layers for power users. Team memory sharing capabilities.
The expansion is natural, not forced – users WANT deeper memory because they experience the value difference.
Key Takeaway
Willingness-to-pay correlates directly with memory depth. Price accordingly – and design your product to maximize depth, not just usage.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
